by Shelby Bowman ’26
She traded a research lab for a classroom. He swapped courtrooms for coding. While Kathryn and Tom Sarachan didn’t plan on teaching, they’re now shaping futures together at Wilson College.
Although Kathryn Sarachan, Ph.D., assistant professor of chemistry, once imagined a future as a full-time researcher, her plans shifted during her postdoctoral work at the University at Albany where she discovered her passion for teaching. Now in her ninth year at Wilson, she continues to explore the things she finds most fascinating about science while sharing that enthusiasm with her students.
Kathryn’s passion is chemistry, which she calls “the central science.” With a background in biochemistry and molecular biophysics, chemistry is the discipline that brings all her interests together and excites her the most.
This fall, Kathryn’s husband, Tom Sarachan, M.F.A., J.D., joined Wilson as an assistant professor of computer science. Like Kathryn, he didn’t originally plan on becoming a teacher.
“I went to law school and worked as a public defender,” Tom explained. “There came a time when my wife said to me, ‘You’re too young to be going to the doctor with chest pains. You’ve got to do something different with your life.’”
His uncle helped him imagine a new direction. Knowing Tom had always been interested in games and game design, his uncle pointed out that the field had grown into a serious area of study, and a promising career path. Tom pursued a Master of Fine Arts in game design, dove into computer science and programming, and eventually found his way to teaching.
Tom is now introducing students to fundamental programming concepts and a creative, problem-solving approach to computer science. He finds this incredibly rewarding and enjoys watching students work through problems.
“I want people to feel like they can figure things out for themselves,” said Tom.“They can solve problems.”
Although they teach in different departments, Kathryn said it’s been fun having Tom on campus. “It’s lovely to meet for lunch and sit together at faculty meetings. We can bounce ideas off each other when we’re thinking about ways to expand our programs or some of the challenges that can arise in the classroom,” she said. “It’s really nice to have someone that I trust implicitly to ask those questions.”
In addition to each other, the Sarachans have two young children who also enjoy spending time on campus. Once a week, the entire family shares a meal together in the dining hall, a highlight for the kids. “It is the one time each week when they are permitted to have chocolate milk, pizza, and ice cream all at the same meal,” said Kathryn. “They like it very much.”
Both professors agree that Wilson’s close-knit community is what makes the college special.
“At most bigger schools, I’d never have the chance to learn everyone’s name. I certainly wouldn’t know what sports teams you were on, or hobbies you have at home. I wouldn’t know how to ask how you spend your weekend, because I wouldn’t know you as a person,” said Kathryn.
“Wilson is great. Everyone is nice,” Tom said. “I cannot say enough good things about my students. They are amazing. I really appreciate seeing them engaged with and thinking about what we’re doing. That’s always the best part.”
